Perez

WASHINGTON - Thomas E. Perez was confirmed as secretary of Labor on Thursday, ending a long battle over his nomination in a key test of this week's deal to end a showdown over Senate rules. Perez, currently the nation's top civil rights lawyer, was confirmed by a vote of 54-46 in the Senate, the narrowest result for any of President Obama's second-term Cabinet nominees. Perez will become the sole Latino in the Cabinet, leading the Labor Department as Congress considers a major overhaul of immigration laws that could create millions of newly legal workers.

The documentary "Cesar's Last Fast" covers much the same ground as the dramatized "Cesar Chavez" released last month. Both center on the labor leader who in the 1960s helped to form the United Farm Workers union, organize the California grape workers' strike and foment a nationwide boycott of table grapes. Although "Cesar's Last Fast" extends the coverage by two decades, the same criticisms lodged against "Cesar Chavez" are applicable here: Richard Ray Perez's documentary concerns the myth more than the man. Perez has made a commendable effort rounding up archival footage, photographs and interviewees.

SACRAMENTO--Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles), a candidate for state controller, said Tuesday he would like to step down from his leadership post early next summer. “It's a natural transition point right after the budget is passed, the end of June, beginning of July,” Perez told the Los Angeles Times. “You complete your obligation to get another on-time budget, then as each house is dealing with bills from the other house, you've got a new leader in place,” he said Perez said he then would be available to assist the incoming speaker for a short period in the final weeks of the session, which is scheduled to adjourn on Aug. 31, 2014. The jockeying to replace Perez has been the subject of much speculation in the Capitol, but so far, no clear front-runner candidate has emerged.

- On a night when the toll of a lengthy boxing career was going to be tested in another multimillion-dollar world-title fight, the promise of a limitless future in the sport was also displayed. Oscar Valdez, a 23-year-old two-time Olympian from Nogales, Mexico, who trains in Santa Fe Springs, won his first belt, the North American Boxing Federation super-featherweight title, with a fourth-round knockout of Florida's Adrian Perez, 33, on Saturday. "Everything we practiced in the gym we showed in the ring today," Valdez (10-0, 10 knockouts)

A freshman Democrat from Los Angeles won the unanimous support of his party colleagues Thursday to be the next leader of the California Assembly, a choice that would make John A. Perez the first openly gay lawmaker to hold the powerful post. Perez, a 40-year-old former labor union official and a cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is slated to be confirmed as the next speaker in a floor vote set for early January. The choice of Perez ended several contentious weeks of infighting among the Assembly's ruling Democrats -- who hold a 50 to 29 edge over the GOP -- and came only after his chief rival, Assemblyman Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles)

Bob Bell, Socker co-managing general partner, said Monday that he has fined midfielder Hugo Perez $4,500 and suspended him for two weeks, retroactive to Sept. 1. Last Thursday, Bell said he planned to suspend Perez for the 1987-88 season because Perez tried out for Ajax Amsterdam, a European club team, in July without telling the Sockers. Bell said Perez was planning to join the renowned Dutch club after his contract with San Diego expires June 30, 1988.

Kicker Louis Perez, who has made 23 of 33 field goals in his two-year career, needs one more to move into a fourth-place tie with Norm Johnson and Efren Herrera. Perez has made eight of 12 field goals this season, including all six attempted from inside the 40-yard line. . . . Tailback Daron Washington has surpassed Kevin Williams as the Bruins' leading rusher with 389 yards and five touchdowns. Williams, who has been hampered by injuries this season, has 388 yards and three touchdowns.

SAN DIEGO — A Marine staff sergeant pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of murdering the 22-year-old wife of a fellow Marine as the prosecutor announced that the victim's blood and a possible murder weapon were found in the defendant's car. A judge ordered Staff Sgt. Louis Perez, 45, held in jail on $3-million bail in the killing of Brittany Dawn Killgore, whose body was found dumped near Lake Skinner in Riverside County. Killgore had been set to attend a dinner cruise in San Diego with Perez and his girlfriend on April 13 but instead sent a text message to a friend saying she was in "distress" and needed help, Deputy Dist.

Former Los Angeles Police Officer Rafael Perez, who recently stopped cooperating with prosecutors investigating the Rampart police corruption case, should not be moved from a jail to a state prison to finish his sentence for stealing cocaine, a Superior Court judge ruled Friday. Judge Robert Perry said he was concerned about Perez's safety.

The California Supreme Court's chief justice has called for an evaluation of an Orange County judge after he reduced charges against an Anaheim father who burned his 5-year-old son's hand on a gas flame for stealing gum, officials said Tuesday. Chief Justice Ronald M. George has called on the presiding judge in Orange County to evaluate Judge James O. Perez in the wake of media reports about the case, said Lynn Holton, press officer for the state Supreme Court.

Fans are counting the days until the return of Fox's "The Mindy Project" on April 1. What's next after the turbulence-induced airplane make-out session between fellow OB-GYN Danny Castellano (Chris Messina) and the lovelorn Dr. Mindy Lahiri? And, of course, they'll clamor to see what series star Mindy Kaling is wearing. That's because Kaling's character, with her everywoman figure, is TV's unlikely new style star in her signature jumble of contrasting prints and almost-clashing colors.

Here's a free tip to that legion of relievers making plans to be in the Dodgers' bullpen this season: Better be on your game early and often. General Manager Ned Colletti has assembled a relief corps of pitchers who are used to being in at the end of games, including former closers Brian Wilson, Brandon League and Chris Perez. Perez is the former Indians closer signed during the off-season, and his early spring results are all of the encouraging variety. Tuesday was a relievers game anyway, seven different members of the bullpen filling in for starter Zack Greinke, who remains out with a calf strain.

California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) has added his name to a growing list of endorsements of state Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), who is running for Congress. "Ted's smarts, skills, tenacity and record make him the best choice for Congress," Pérez said in a statement released by the Lieu campaign Friday. Lieu and former L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel are the leading Democrats so far in the race to replace Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), who announced last week that he would retire at the end of his term.

On his 39th birthday, Jamey Wright landed a long-awaited major league contract. The Dodgers officially announced Tuesday their one-year deals with Wright and Chris Perez, a former All-Star closer with the Cleveland Indians. By signing Wright to a guaranteed contract, the Dodgers ended one of baseball's most remarkable streaks. In each of the last eight seasons, Wright went into spring training on a minor league contract and pitched his way on to the opening-day roster, including with the Dodgers in 2012.

In a matter of weeks, the Dodgers' bullpen went from half-empty to arguably the most stacked in the recent history of the franchise. The Dodgers were in the process of finalizing one-year contracts Monday with right-handers Chris Perez and Jamey Wright, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke under the condition of anonymity because the deals haven't been officially announced. This month, the Dodgers added Brian Wilson and J.P. Howell. With Kenley Jansen entrenched as the team's closer, Perez figures to be one of three former All-Star closers pitching in non-closing situations.

The Dodgers are closing in on a one-year contract with former All-Star closer Chris Perez, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke under the condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been finalized. Financial terms of the prospective deal aren't known. Perez, 28, was an All-Star with the Cleveland Indians in 2011 and 2012 but was released Oct. 31. Perez was arrested on marijuana charges this year and lost his job as the Indians' closer. Armed with a fastball routinely clocked in the mid- to high 90s, Perez figures to be a late-inning reinforcement in a bullpen that includes closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Brian Wilson.

A plan to let oil companies leave large parts of decommissioned drilling rigs in the ocean off California's coast, saving them hundreds of millions of dollars, is sailing through the Legislature at a time when the Gulf of Mexico spill has made the industry politically toxic. The "rigs to reef" idea, which proponents say would create marine habitat, has been around for more than a decade. Former Gov. Gray Davis vetoed such a proposal in 2001, citing a lack of proof that abandoned oil rigs help the environment.

SAN DIEGO - The three people accused of killing a 22-year-old Marine wife were engaged in a sadistic sexual lifestyle that may be linked to her death, according to court documents released Wednesday. Detectives believe two of the defendants, a Marine and his girlfriend, may have sexually accosted Brittany Dawn Killgore before killing her, according to one document. Four search warrants, ordered released by an appeals court over the objections of the district attorney's office, provide an inside look at the unusual relationship involving Staff Sgt. Louis Perez, 45; Jessica Lopez, 25; and Dorothy Maraglino, 36, all charged with murder in connection with Killgore's slaying.

SACRAMENTO--Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles), a candidate for state controller, said Tuesday he would like to step down from his leadership post early next summer. “It's a natural transition point right after the budget is passed, the end of June, beginning of July,” Perez told the Los Angeles Times. “You complete your obligation to get another on-time budget, then as each house is dealing with bills from the other house, you've got a new leader in place,” he said Perez said he then would be available to assist the incoming speaker for a short period in the final weeks of the session, which is scheduled to adjourn on Aug. 31, 2014. The jockeying to replace Perez has been the subject of much speculation in the Capitol, but so far, no clear front-runner candidate has emerged.

Reality TV writer and director James Marcus Howe and his wife were inside their Glassell Park home when a salesman knocked on the door. It was the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving. Within minutes, Howe was dead and his wife seriously wounded. When Howe and his wife approached the front door, they saw only the man alone. Within seconds, another man and a woman forced their way inside, police said. As an ensuing altercation quickly escalated, one of the men pulled out a handgun.